Jackson County real estate market sees rising prices, more listings

More homes went on the market in Jackson County this fall, giving home shoppers more choices.

More homes went on the market in Jackson County this fall, giving home shoppers more choices.

The market continued to climb between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30 as the median sales price neared $210,000, according to figures compiled by the Southern Oregon Multiple Listing Service, even as inventories climbed in most communities.

The median price of an existing home jumped 16.4 percent to $209,475 from $179,900 a year earlier with gains registered in every market region except Ashland, where the median remained well over $300,000.

There were 1,054 listings at the end of November, compared with 903 a year earlier.

Jacksonville was the most resistant to the trend.

"Jacksonville draws people who are more apt to stay their homes," said Kelly Quaid, an agent with Ramsay Realty in Jacksonville. "People here, for whatever reason, were better able to weather the economic downtown that forced people in other areas to make moves. It's hard to find something like you will find in Jacksonville and people have no inclination to leave."

Home sales throughout the county slipped 11.9 percent year-over-year during the three-month period, with 482 sales, compared with 547 in 2012. The average days on market dropped to 52 days from 62.

The broadest year-over-year median gains came in Phoenix and Talent, which, incidentally, had the quickest turnaround time once the houses were placed on the market this fall.

Phoenix's median sales price was $203,300, up 23.2 percent from $164,900 a year ago, but still 12.1 percent below where it was in 2008. Talent's median price was $189,000, up 23.1 percent from $149,750 a year earlier.

In neighboring Josephine County, the median price for the three months rose 18.8 percent to $165,000, up from $145,000 for the similar period in 2012. Homes sold, on average, within 81 days of going on the market, compared with 91 last year. The inventory is slowly growing, up 3.6 percent from a year earlier.

The pace of sales fell 18.1 percent from the previous year between Sept. 1 and Nov. 30, with 104 transactions going in the books, compared with 127 in 2012.

— Greg Stiles

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